Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of cementitious material to the surface of a vertical structure



Aug. 5, 1952 A M HIRSH JR 2,605,533

APPARATUS FORAPPLYINC; A'coNTINuous LAYER OF CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL TO THE SURFACE OF A VERTICAL STRUCTURE Filed May 20, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

2,605,533 ENTITIOUS TURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 RSH JR TINuo'us LAYER OF CEM OF A VERTICAL STRUC A. M. HI FLYING A CON THE SURFACE Aug. 5, 1952 APPARATUS FOR AP MATERIAL TO Filed May 20, 1950 1/1421 1]. Ja al/z 605,533 EMENTITIOUS IICAL STRUCTURE Aug. 5, 1952 HIRS'H/JR v PPLYING A con uou APPARATUS FOR A MATERIAL T Filed May 20, 1950.

QTHE SURFACE OF A VERT 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 g- 1952 A. M. HIRSH, JR 2,605,533

, APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A coNTINuous LAYER OF CEMENTITIOUS MATERIAL TO THE 1cm. STRUCTURE Filed May 20 1950 SURFACE OF VERT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 5, 1952 7 ArmR-ArUsFoRA-PPL LAYER OF .QEMEVNTITIOUS MATERIAIJgfEO I V i in BE. Anni-M;

rnn, SURFAGE or A VERTIGAL STRUG- their Joint Pipe; Company, East orange; N. J., incorporation New Jerse'y'" niiinfwisfi'mar'z'd, 1950; sefiflNb; 1ss;1'61

(o1. 2'5=-s'sj 8 Claims.

This invention relates toi err apparatus? for anpiyir ig'e contimiou'scoating of denintiiiious materiaI vorm-omz u to a su fist'xannany verti o-1 s'urfaceof a; core; Thes'urftic'ze to loeco'atedi is de fined as a" surface traded by straight line moving parallel to a: flied str'eightline orflaxis, as; for example; a oylindrieal ur ace; or" the surface or any other body or core aving asubstantially uniform cross se tion; The process applies an endless sleeve-like meter-band or cementitious material of uniform thi 'ess a ainst the surface. The coating" is a'piiqd progre sively. stgrtm grrem g lower portion or; the gore a layer in the fomr of an rljdleS'S pon is m n-any op; plied' tq'the surrace p the pore-end thebeind is widened in a; direction parallel. toithe'jelxisofthe core to form a, continoous l'eyerfi e-rrom' joints and irregularitiesi The layer ;i's"bdrjided' to the surfaceof the core it is formed.

The cementitions materiefl'isi donsbngafied-and app'liedin such dense rrm-"astosbe'se fisustaim ing and resistei'it'to aefornran n or I v immediately followi'rig" the passage or the a ply;- mg apparatus. a The niethojdanfii pparatus: may be'usedto a ply el monolithic coating or' layer of oementitiou's' r"r'1a.t 'eria,i' on the snrrace of a; solid body, or' on the outside" or inside surfaces of a; hollow cor'en Y V V I" The OathTQTapIJ'M'aQtIISi inchid's a editing hopperf opening, q waroiy for receiving cementi tio'us material; 'rrre lower ornon' or the Hopper hes" concentric wen whiiefi" together form a; dis?" charge opening" loeajted opposite? the; surfaloe to becoated and so 'formedfas'tofii'reot thece 'fib'i tious.materiafagainst'thei tious' material" is uni ormly etppl lateral extent of the periphera'l core" owing to the" con nuiw or A opening around thecore. The'e'oeiting ismitieil'ly formed in an endless band or pr'eiieterfiimed thickness and. is extended lengthwise f the: axis of the core'by m'dvingthefloous ofeipplicetionof the cementitious maitrial es determined by' the discharge opening-of thie'hopper; a V I l The cementitious' mix contains little more moisture than isneoessery 'to'produoe the cherni cal action required iof'ha'rdening; fIheeons'ls'tency of the" mix su'ch that its inherentwork: ability is of a'loworder; Itis 're" dered'worke hie and oonsolidaited'forthe"purposes of the present invention'under' the influence of vibrations epdisplacement v plied alt highflfreci'nenoy'. Vibrators are attached. to the opposite wallsof the coating-hopper in the region of its dischargeopenmg'; The Vibration effects redu'cti'on-of the interriailfriction between the pammesor the mi)? i61 "ali'li'jztirfir'ig its most fldw'able condition just-prior to its applidatior'i to the siir fa'de of nieddre, v

The weIl' of the coating hopper furthest from the sur-fae to be denied hzis" a lower portion w'liidh is; displaced aliii ellls' df the core from the lower edge of the wan or the hopper which is more proximate to" the meme of the core. The lower portion of 'triei'rnoreremot'e wan" firmly bondsthe celhe'Iitiiiidi1L?rriiii'lfitlto the'siirfe'ce of thecore'f v i r A feed hopper is employed to supply the" rii'izito the coating lid 1 1 51 is it is needed-. Since the waiting" applie'd' 21S tlfi alppirttiis is moved. ajxi'alll'y' (ifthe core; diffrefifi S i'z es' 6f cores can be coated eiif; the some ljteiof speedl Coatings have b'eer'icommomy' a 'pned byprojcting a stream or mortar a'g'a'{1'fi-SttHe' surface or a core as the core is rota'taited and the projecting device i's nidv'ed ldfig'itfidineiil'jfthereof In s'nc'li methods the coating of ieir'gedi'ameter oore'srequires more tinie' than the "editing" (if o'ores of smaller diameter.

Th'e hoppers are sfiefided frdrn overheat? by Gables fastened to "cl ies whibliare-operated at auniformr a'l t'e i56 lev t'e the ho pers as the editing" i'S ekteiided a$i11 i 0f the cOIe.

Fig; 2 is a partiar Horizontal semen-oriline 3-3 of Fig. 1;

plieatleri 'of the; fit

rigavmust teeam mor non= nnie11m11ow corewhosei i er; am; out r surraees may be coated by eniplovmg' the principle-o tire-present invention.

The method and an apparatus for applying a coating of cementitious material to a surface of a core are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6. Referring to Fig. l, the apparatus comprises an annular coating hopper I and an annular supply hopper II which encircles the core or other body l2 to which a coating is to be applied. The particular apparatus referred to is circular because of the cylindrical section of the core but it is intended that the form of the apparatus be such as to be concentric with and otherwise conform to the cross-section of the body to which the coating is to be applied.

' The two hoppers l0 and II are supported from cables which are attached to winches by which the hoppers are progressively' elevated as the coating is extended parallel to theaxis of the core. As illustrated in Fig. 1, there are four winches 13, l4, l5 and [6. {These winches are mounted on a platform I! which. is conveniently supported on the upper end of the core.

means of four pairs of beveled gears similar to the gears i8 and [9. a variable speed motor which is connected by a belt 2| to a speed reducer 22, which in turn drives the shaft 23 of one ofthe winches through a belt connection 24.; The driving and speed controlling mechanism ismounted upon a platform 25, which is supported above the platform I! by means of pairsof standards, such as are shown at 26 and 21, Fig.1. A pulley 28 journalled on each pair of standards for guiding the four cables 29, 30, 3! and 32 that are connected between, the respective winches I 3, l4, l5 and I6 and the supply hopper l I. Any desired number of these winches'and cables may be pro-'- vided depending upon the size of the cross-section of the core which is tobecoated, V I

The supply hopper l; l has concentric walls 34 and 35 with portions converging to provide a discharge opening; '36. Walls 34 and 35 of the supply hopper are rigidly connected together by a plurality of transverse panels 33 These walls and the discharge opening extend concentrically about the core. The supply hopper l l is provided with a valve 31in the formof a ring which is displaceable for permitting the feed of cementitious material 38 through the discharge openmg. 31 a pluralityof motors39 are provided which are equi-spaced aroundthe hopper. Each motor is supported on an individual platform 40 which is fastened to the supply hopper. Each motor is provided with a gear 4! which meshes with a rack on a rod 42 to which the valve 3'! is attached. A backing-up roller 43 maintains each gear and rack in mesh. 'Ifhe motors 39 are electrically coordinated in order to act uniformly to control the movement ofthe valve 31. a

The coating hopper l9 is supported from the supply hopper I I by means of a plurality of rods 45 which are secured to rings 46 and 41 secured to the respective hoppers.

The coating hopper I0 is formed by concentrically arranged walls 48 and 49 which are spaced from each other bya plurality of separating panels 50 which are distributed around the hoppers. The wall 48 is the most proximate to, and the wall 49 is most remote from the surface to be coated. The coating hopper opens upwardly to receive cementitious material from the supply hopper and the wallsthereof converge downwardly and towards the surface of the core to be coated.

For controlling the movement of the valve The discharge opening of the hopper I0 is formed by the lower edge 52 of the wall 48 and by the lower edge 53 of the wall 49 of the hopper, as best seen in Fig. 4. The edge 53 is in effect a trailing edge because the hopper is progressively moved upwardly during a coating operation and the lower edge of the more remote wall 49 is the last of the edges 52 and 53 to have contact with the coating material 54 being applied tO the .COI,6. The ,edges .52 and 53 define the limits of the discharge opening ofthe hopper. The opening faces the surface of'the' core and is V disposed angularly with respect thereto with the The,.. winches are connected to rotate together by trailing edge 53 spaced from the surface a distance corresponding to the thickness of the layer desired. A I

The hopper'and the edges 52 and 53 are maintained in spacial relationship to the surface of the core by meansof a plurality of members which maybe inthe form of resilient elements :55v attachedto the wall 48 of the hopper at uniform intervals around the hopper. These elements 55 may assume any convenient form so The winches are driven by,

long as they are adapted to serve as guides for correctly centering the hopper with respect to the surface of the core.

The remote wall 49 'is shaped in such a manner as to facilitate the. movement of the cementitious material 54 towardsand into'compacting relationship with the surface of thecore. To further this action the wall '49 has a convex conical portion 51 which acts as a ramp that merges into a cylindrical or substa'ntially' cylindrical portion 58 terminating'inthe trailing edge' 53.

The cementitiousmaterial preferably is relatively dry and stiff and basal conistency of approximately zero when compared with the ordinary concrete slump test. I A suitable mix comprises cement, mineral dust," fin'e', sand, gravel and water- The movementof the cementitious material through thefcoatingphopper is assisted by vibrations ofhighfredueifcyff These vibrations are imparted} to I-tlie' wane of' thecoating hopper in the vicinityof'tlie discharge opening. A plurality of vibrators are distributed around both of these walls'at such spacing as to provide the intensity of agitation required to make the mix flowable through theijhopper. '.In the apparatus illustrated there are ftwelve vibrators 69 distributed aroundfthe 'wall '48. and eight vibrators $4 distributed'aroundfthe wall 49 in the region of the lower marginal'edges' of the hopper, but it is to be understood thatthe number of vibrators may be increased or decreased depending upon their poweran'd frequency and the cross-sectional shape and area of the core'which is to be coated. "While anyfsuitable conventional type of high frequencyvibrator mayibe used, satisfactory" results have I been obtained with pneumatically actuatedfvibra tors operated at a frequency ran is rrom'abbuc115o to' about 200 cycles per second; Q They are so mounted as to agitate thecementitibus material entirely around the coating'hop'perj i' The vibrators which act upon the wall 48 are rigidly mounted on supporting members 68 attached to 'a ring .69. 'They are so erected as to direct the vibrations in; the axialdirection of the ring and to a portionof the wall 48 adjacent the discharge edge 52. The ring 69 is rigidly supported by a pluralit'ylof sets o'flstruts 19 and H which are welded-tethering 69 and to the, wall.

The vibrators 64 which vibrate the wall '49 in the vicinity of the trailingedge 53, are'rigidly supported on a ring ]13' which surrounds the hopper. 7 wall 49 by; sets of portions 51 and 5.8', and vibration to the sloping portion of the wall 49'. The vibrators 64' are attached to the ring 13 in such a manner that theirdirectionsof vibrations lie in the plane of the ring material against. thesurface of the core in a dense form. i

It is apparent that the apparatus hereinabove' describedis useful for applying a layer or coating of cementitiousmaterial tothe" exterior surface of a variety of structures such as pipes, columns, piles, tanksand collapsible shells.

The structure illustrated in Figs. 1 to inclusive, consists of apipe core having a hardened concrete lining i-l acylindrical steel sleeve- T8, and bell and spigot rings 19 and 8 0 fastened to the steel cylinder (Fig. 1). A tensioned wire winding 8! is helically wrapped'around' the sleeve. The pipe is'supported on a base ring 82. For coating a core of this applied over the bell ring before the coating apparatus is put into operation. This'm ay be done in any manner desired. In the drawing, l, the coating 83' is applied between the bell ring 1e and an outside moulding ring 84 Cementiti'ous material is placed between the two rings and firmly tamped into place. The moulding maybe assisted by employing a plurality of vibrators 85 which are attached tothe-moulding'ringtli.

When the core or pipe has been prepared, the coating and supply hoppers are placed in a posi tion in which the lower wall 58 ofthe coating hopper-is opposite the area of the-core where the coating is first to be applied The coating hopper is filled with a ring-like mass of cementitious.

material. hopper are operated and the" apparatus is gressively raised for forming the coating 86 rate of movement ofthe coating hopper is controlled by the variable speed motor 20'; The cementitious material, upon leaving the trailing edge 53 of the hopper and the influence of vi'-- bration, sets very hard-to the touch and remains as a hard and dense coating. The coating is thoroughly compacted againstthe surface of the core and completely encases so firmly as to leave no voids at the underside of the tensionedwire. The coating 861's trowelled' smooth by the wall portion 58 In order to provide a wall surface above the core which is coextensive with the surface of the core a collar 81 ismounted on the platform IT. The collar cooperates with the guide members 55 on the coating'hopper to centralizethe hopper during. the coating-of the" surface area of the-core adjacent itsupper end. I

The process for applying a layer or coating to a core is a continuing process which continues so long as material is supplied to the coatinghopper, and, with the apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to coat a complete length of pipe by progressively advancingthe coating apparatus without interruption. The process may'also" be used for making concrete pipe by' applying a plastic mix of cementitious materialover' a collapsible core-or shell which can be'removed' when the material hasset. v

Fig. 6. illustrates aniapparatus for coating the inside surface. of a hollow core. illustrated as a tubular shell or sleeve to'which an The vibrators carried by the coating pro- The

The. ring 13 is rigidly attached to the a I struts, each'set includinga' horizontalstruthi'andan i'nclined'strut 1-5. The struts 14- transmit' vibration tothe lower wall the struts transmit" 1 3. The vibration of the wall portion 58 compacts the cementitious type, a coating SSm'ay be the wire wrapping The core 90' is.

interior coating 91 is beingrappliedi Thecore is mounted on a base 92 which supports the core with its axis extending vertically. The hoisting mechanism 93-, by which the coating hopper 94 and the material supply hopper95- are moved upwardlyalong'the'inner wall of the-core, is simi-' 'lar to the hoisting mechanism previously described. It may be mounted onits own supports, or it may be mounted upon the upper end of the core 90, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

The hoisting mechanism includes a ring-like platform 96' having; a dependin'g flange 91 which centers theplatform on the upper endof the core. The platform Elli hasj a'central opening through which" the supply hopper 95- and the upper portion of the coating hopper 94 may be raisedtoward's the: conclusion of the coating opera-tiona' Four winches 9'8, 99', [0'0 and llll are uniformly distributed around the coreand connected together by shafts and gearing. The op eration of the winches is controlled by the-vari able speed motor" 102 and the speed reducer I03 which isbeltedto" one-ofithewin'ch shafts; The motor and the speed reducer are mounted on a platform" l M which is supported by a plurality of pairs of standards H15, H16; extending upwardly from the ring-shaped platform 96. The sheaves operate cables [01, H18, H19 and" l [0 from which the coating apparatus is suspended.

I The supply hopper 951s f'orm'ed'by two opposite-walls HI and H2 which converge toward their lower edges to provide atubular discharge opening H3; The suspending cables are attached to the wall lll',.and-thewai1 I [2' is rigidly connected to the wall 'l-H by ajpluralityofradially extending panels lll'. The valve ring H5. is actuated by aplurality ofmotors HB toicontrol' the position ofv thevalvefring and to regulate the rate, of discharge of cementitiousmaterial' 220111 the supply hopper95 to the coating hopper The coating hopper 94: is suspended from the supply hcpper'by a plurality of rods. I IT. The coating hopper functions similarly to. the one previously described with reference to Fig, 1. It

includes two opposite-walls'liliaand I'l9' which are concentric to the inner surface offthe, core. The walls H8 and H9. corre'spondlto the walls 481 and t9; resepectiv'ely, of the coatinghopper HI (Figi .1), but are so formedfa's tofl'prjovide a tubular discharge opening". facing outwardly towards the inner surface ofthe"'coreinstead,of inwardly. In Fig. 6; the wall H8" is the wall which is more remote from the'surface ofthe core being coated than the wall H8;

The wall. IIB has. attached toithe lower per tion thereof aset of vibrators. I20}. and, another set of vibrators I2! is. attached to. they lower portion of the. wall. IZIQ'; These. vibrators. function similarly tothevibrators previously.- described to eifectthe am'ilication.v of. the cementi-- tiousmaterial I22 against the. innen surface of the core. The vibrators I2l impart ahigh frequency of vibration to the trowelling portion of the wall H9 opposite. which the; cementitious materialis applied against the surface: of the core in an endless band;v The thickness of'the layer of cementitious material is: determined by the spacing of-the' wall portion 123- of the-coating hopper from theinner surface 'of thecore. The coating hopper is maintained concentricwith the inner surface of the core by means; of aplurality of spacing devices, 24'which-areimounted on the wall H8} Themethod for coating theinner surface ofa hollow core isthe same as forcoating an outer surface.

The apparatus isadaptable for coating noncylindrical bodies, a s well as pipes and other cylindrical bodiesr For example, a rectangular body I25 havinga cross-section, such as is schematically, illustrated in Fig. '7, may be coated with an outside coating 126 and an inside coating 121., v v

What is claimed is: i

. l. Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of cementitious material to a substantially vertical surface of a corehaving a substantially uniform cross section, comprising a hopper for containing cementitious material, said hopper having opposite walls arrangedone within another with lower edges which are displaced vertically with respect to each other and constitute the marginal edges of a tubular discharge opening concentric to the surface of said core, means secured to each of said walls and holding said walls in spaced relationship, means for vibrating said walls, and means for raising said hopper alongside the surfaceof said core.

2. Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of. cementitious material. to a substantially vertical surface of va core having a substantially uniform'cross section, comprising a hopper for containing cementitious material, said hopper havingopposite walls with lower portions there of extending towards the said surface of said core and terminating in lower edges forming a tubular discharge opening, one of said walls being more. proximate to the surface of said core than the other of said walls and the more remote ofsaid walls having a substantially cylindric'al portion extending beyond the lower edge of the more proximate wall. means secured to each of said walls and holding said walls in spaced relationship, means attached to said walls for vibrating the'same, and means for raising said hopper alongside the surface of said core.

3., Apparatus forapplying a continuous layer of cementitious material'to a substantially vertical surface of acore having a substantially uniform cross section, comprising a hopper for containing cementitious material, said hopper opening upwardly for receiving cementitious material and having a tubular discharge opening for directing the flow of cementitious material from the hopper against the surface of said core in an endless band, saidhopper having opposite walls with lower portions, thereof extending towards the said surface of said core and terminating in lower edges forming said discharge opening, one of said walls being more proximate to the surface of said'core than the other of said walls and the more remote of said walls having a ramp-like portion merging into a substantially cylindrical portion adjacent its lower edge, a set of vibrators attached to each of said walls, said vibrators of each set being spaced around said walls adjacent said discharge opening, and means for raising said hopper alongside the surface of said core.

4. Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of cementitious material to a substantially vertical surface, of a core having a substantially uniform cross section, comprising'a hopper for containing cementitious material, said hopper opening upwardly for receiving cementitious ma terial and havingta tubular discharge opening for directing the flow of cementitious material from the hopper against the surface of said core in an endless. band, said hopper having concentrio walls with lowerportions extending towards the said surface of said core and terminating in marginal edges of said discharge opening, means supporting a set of vibrators in spaced relation laterally around one of said walls, means supporting a second set of vibrators in spaced relation laterally around the other of said walls, said sets of vibrators being so located as to apply vibration to the lower portions of said walls, and means for raising said hopper as cementitious material is discharged from said discharge opening in an endless band against the surface of said core.

5. Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of cementitious material to a substantially vertical surface of a core having a substantially uniform cross section, comprising a coating hopper for containing and distributing cementitious material, said coating hopper opening upwardly for receiving cementitious material and having opposite walls with lower edges displaced vertically with respect to each other and terminating in marginal edges of a tubular discharge opening, a supply hopper for supplying cementitious material to said coating hopper, means supporting said coating hopper from said supply hopper, means for controlling the rate of flow of cementitious material from said supply hopper to said coating hopper, and means for raising said hoppers along the surface of said core.

6. Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of cementitious material to a substantially vertical surface of a core having a substantially uniform cross section,- comprising means for containing and distributing cementitious material in a band extending laterally around the surface of said core, hoisting mechanism mounted above said core, cables extending from said hoisting mechanism to said distributing means for supporting said distributing means, a collar mounted above said core and having a wall surface substantially coextensive with said surface of said core, and means carried by said distributing means for cooperating with the surface of said collar to centralize said distributing means with respect to said surface of the core during the coating of the surface area of the core adjacent the upper end of the core.

7; Apparatus for applying a continuous layer of cementitious material to a substantially vertical surface of a core having a substantially uniform cross-section and wherein the cementitious material is a relatively dry and stiff mix having a consistency of approximately zero when compared with the ordinary concrete slump test, comprising a hopper having an annular wall adjacent to said vertical surface and a more remote annular wall, said walls converging downwardly and providing a lower discharge opening facing said surface for directing material to said surface, means connecting said walls together, means for vibrating one of said walls, and means for raising said hopper alongside said surface.

8. Apparatus for applyinga continuous layer of cementitious material to a substantially vertical surface of a corehaving a substantially uniform cross-section and wherein the cementitious material is a relatively dry and stiff mix having a consistency of approximately zero when compared with the ordinary concrete slump test, comprising a hopper formed by annular walls converging downwardly towards a discharge opening adjacent said vertical surface, one of said walls being more remote from said surface than the other of said Walls and having a portion theredf REFERENCES CITED located opposite said discharge opening and The following references are of record in the providing a marginal edge which constitutes a me of this patent:

trailing edge for said hopper, said trailing edge being spaced from said surface a distance equal 5 UNITED STATES. PATENTS to the thickness of a layer of cementitious mate- Number Name Date rial to be applied to said surface, means for 2,053,307 Wilson Sept. 8.1936 vibrating said trailing edge, and means for 2,225,015 Lebelle Dec. 17, 1940 raising said hopper to cause the application of a continuous layer of cementitious material to 10 said surface.

ALLAN M. HIRSH. JR. 

